King's Bromley Marina in the Winter

Christmas time 2010

Meg in the snow

Jennyanydots is the first boat on the left

We are all still being boat dogs. The boat is nice and warm now but you should have heard the rain falling on the roof last night. This morning the little stream by the mooring was very full and flowing fast. Mum wouldn't let us go anywhere near it.

During the morning the nice man from the tractor, Ian, came and hammered some wood over the huge gap we needed to jump over to get on and off the boat. It wasn't much of a problem for me, dad was Ok with it but Toby and mum struggled. Mum took some photos of Ian doing the work and when it was finished but, she says she's being stupid, and she has done something to the camera card so we can't put the pictures of it happening on the blog. Never mind, but thank you so much Ian.

While Ian was working Bradley, the little black dog from yesterday, walked past with his mum. My mum was pleased to be able to talk to Bradley's mum and say sorry about the fuss I made. I wanted to get off the boat to play with him but I could only put my paws over the doors and look. Mum wouldn't let me get off. After lunch we went in the car to DogsRUs (Pets at Home) and mum and dad bought us all sorts of chewy goodies, some shampoo and a big new water bowl to take home. When we got back to the marina Toby and I played running in the mud again. It was such good fun. Mum has a new trick - when we are dirty she won't let us inside the boat until we are dry. She puts us on our deck leads and we have to stay on the deck at the back of the boat until she has rubbed us with towels and we have dried off a bit.

Pat from the office, Meg's mum, gave mum copies of pictures of the marina in the winter. It looked really cold.

I think we are going home tomorrow.

Being boating dogs

I'm ten months old today. It's been a good and a bad day. This morning I got into bad trouble and even though it is my sort of birthday mum smacked me. You see, I got so excited and Toby was growling at this little black dog so I thought I'd growl too. We were both on our leads fastened onto one of mum's crutches because she's got a very sore leg just at the moment. I decided to chase the little black dog and off I went with mum's crutch and Toby dragging along behind me. That was a bit of a surprise and then I got an even bigger surprise. The little black dog's mum caught me and then my mum really smacked me!

We are being boat dogs again. After spending ages in the car because the M6 was so slow we arrived at Jennyanydots yesterday lunchtime. Mum was so pleased to be back at the boat and dad seemed quite happy too. Everything was a bit damp so they lit the fire and put all the clean bedding out to air. I was so pleased too and when I saw Rocky and Tess (Toby and Foxy used to moor by them at the other end of the marina) I just jumped off the the back of the boat, across the pontoon and leapt over the water. I didn't even get wet. I was so pleased with myself but mum was cross and put me on my lead and headcollar to walk round the marina. I do keep trying to be calm and good but sometimes, lots of times, I just can't help being jumpy and rough and bouncy. Mum keeps saying that I am very stupid sort of dog for someone with severe arthritis to have, but it's not my fault and I will calm down sometime! I know she loves me because I get lots of cuddles and strokes and she doesn't get cross with me very often.

Last night my people put us in the car and we went to a pub called The Golden Cup at Yoxall. They brought us out a doggy bag of leftovers when they had finished their dinner.

Dad has been to Stratford today and Toby and I have just played around. The video shows us having a wonderful time chasing a stick and running through the mud by the canal. I fell in the water so that washed all the mud off me but poor Toby had to be washed under the tap. He wasn't happy. As it was my special day mum gave us meat out of a tin for our dinner. It was so yummy we both just gobbled it all up, but she never gave us seconds.

It's lovely and warm in the boat now. Mum and dad seem very relieved that everything seems to be all right after the winter. She's a bit nervous about the new water pump so they keep switching the fuse off when they don't actually need water. Mum keeps saying she must check the stop tap under the deck to make sure it isn't leaking but it is such a pain to do she keeps putting it off. I'm going to have a sleep now by the fire to finish drying off and mum is going to cook a chicken meal. I do hope I get some of the chicken too.

28 January 2011

Toby and I have been boat dogs again. After ages and ages in the car we finally got out and, surprise, surprise, we were at the Marina. Mum and dad thought I would have forgotten all about being a boat dog because we haven't been there for such a long time but I remembered everything.

My people had been quite worried about the boat because they hadn't got round to putting it to bed for the winter properly before all that cold and snowy weather but the engine started first time. Everything inside the boat was fine. Dad untied the ropes and mum and Toby and me sailed the boat across the marina for a pump out and to fill up the diesel tank. They should have done that in October when we were last there!

On our last visit there had been big problems. I had a lovely time rolling and bouncing and eating all sorts of lovely yucky stuff that made me sick. Dad's new furniture was delivered on Friday and dad and Toby took all the old stuff home on Saturday. Mum discovered that there was water leaking out under the deck. She asked some men who were fixing another boat if they could have a look and the men said it was the waterpump but they couldn't mend it until Monday morning. Mum turned the water fuse off, filled a bucket of water and put it on the pontoon next to the hatch. She was quite happy and I wasn't bothered. Dad and Toby decided to stay at home. That night it suddenly got really really cold and the bucket of water froze. Mum had to keep putting pans on the stove to keep enough water melted for us to use. A kind man came back first thing on Monday and put a new pump on. Mum knew that the boat needed pumping out and the tank filling with diesel but by this time it was raining and it was slippy so she decided to leave that until next time. But, there wasn't a next time because of the snow. So, all over Christmas she worried. She knew that the water tank was fine because that was all drained down and switched off but she worried that the waste tank might freeze or burst.

Anyway, everything was fine. Dad really enjoyed sitting on his new chair and Tweeting to people on his Blackberry. Mum was just happy being on the boat again even though her leg was so sore and she couldn't walk properly. When we left the boat everything was closed down properly so it doesn't matter now if there is another cold spell. I don't know what the plans are about going back to the boat because mum and dad keep talking about a new knee and I think that means we can't be boat dogs again for a while. We all had a lovely day and I was a really good dog all the time. Mum was really relieved because she thought I was going to be a nightmare!

Lydia was so excited to be on Jennyanydots for the first time. I got excited too but although I was rather more bouncy than usual mum was relieved I didn't knock anyone over into the water. When we had put all our bags on the boat and sorted out the food Annabel and mum took Lydia and me for a walk around the marina. We went to the shop and they bought ice creams. I didn't get one though! After that mum got out the barbecue and Annabel was in charge of cooking bacon and chicken fillets. At bedtime Lydia and Annabel slept in the bed and mum slept on the sofa. I spent the night swapping beds. It was really good fun and I kept waking mum up.

On Sunday afternoon Annabel was really helpful and loaded up the car. Mum got a bit cross with Lydia because she ate some dirty tea bags out of the coal bucket! Eventually we set off. At Bromley Heyes they left me in the car and went into a garden centre. A lady came with a stone fox and put it in the boot next to me. Annabel and Lydia chose it to make a memorial for the dog called Foxy who lived in our house before I moved in.

The photos in the blog before this one show some of the things we did during Lydia's first boat visit. We all had a lovely time but mum was very tired when we eventually got home.

October 9 and 10 2010

On Saturday morning mum loaded up the car and we went to Ormskirk. Dad and Toby stayed at home. Annabel and Lydia put their bags in the car and off we went. Poor mum and Lydia were feeling a bit shaky because mum had tripped over Lydia and they both went flying onto the pavement and both had grazed elbows, but at least it was nothing to do with me this time. Mum tripped over me the other day and I was so upset that Toby and I wouldn't let her get up and we kept licking her face to make her feel better!

Anyway, we stayed in the car for a while and then stopped at some motorway services so we could all stretch our legs. Annabel took me for a little walk and I was really good. I didn't pull the lead at all. Eventually we got to the marina. I'm a really good dog in the car now and I haven't been sick for ages. I just jump in and go to sleep right at the back of the boot.

23 September 2010

We arrived back at the marina yesterday. Toby and dad went home this morning and mum took me shopping to 'Dogsrus' to buy me a new collar and some toys. I've been really good. I sat and watched the geese and didn't try to chase them. I really like the taste of goose poo! I sat and watched the moorhens and only went to investigate after they went into the water. I've played fetch the ball a lot with mum and helped her paint the fire. It doesn't look rusty any more. I've even been as good as gold during a really long and loud thunderstorm. Mum said that if Foxy had been here she would have been a quivering heap in the bathroom. I think we are going to go home on Saturday so I guess this is the last blog until the next trip. Bye. Woofs and bounces until next time.